The Chemist's Shop

by Richard Brumer

  I know where you are, in that beautiful place, and the time will come when we will share our lives once more. Don’t laugh, but I even think of us getting older together. I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry. The beauty I see in you is timeless.

  In the scheme of things, the good times we shared with our little dancing girls took place in a brief moment, as fast as the snap of my fingers, and yet, that moment, that snap, was our lifetime, and, for us, it will go on forever.

  I think of our sweet daughters and what they would be like if they had achieved their girlhood dreams. What would they be doing now if they were grown up and living in America? Would they remember their Hungarian language? Roza would have been a writer for sure. She couldn’t be anything else. I could see her book in the window of Barnes and Noble. “The Collected Poems of Roza Rosen.” She was so serene and sensitive.

  And Magda, our little singer. She would be a star, Ilona, and we would see her and listen to her voice on Broadway as the lead female singer in Man of La Mancha or Cabaret. What a gift she had, and we were fortunate to have been her first audience.

  Then there’s the little one, Eva, “Miss Personality.” We would drive down from Oneonta to Manhattan, watch her dance the lead in her favorite ballet, “Swan Lake,” the one she practiced in our home when she was five. We would send her a bouquet of red roses and watch her holding them on stage, casting a glance toward us as she bowed.

  Then it would be dinner at The Plaza with our sweet girls and we would all stay overnight. I thought I needed pictures to remember all of us, but I don’t. The memories are right here in my mind. They had so much to give, Ilona.

  But I’ve saved the best for last. I see them older and married with children of their own, their own dancers performing their way up, down, and around the furniture. Maybe they would have boys. Imagine that, Ilona, boys. Either way, our girls would be giving us the best gift of all. We would be grandparents, Ilona!

  Chapter 28

  “Your Honor, may it please the court, the defense calls Dr. Carl Evans to the stand,” Ms. Coleman said.

  A tall, medium built man, about fifty with dark hair, took the stand and was sworn.

  “Good afternoon, Dr. Evans. Thank you for appearing today. You have been called here to provide expert testimony relating to the mental state of Professor Michael Ross.”

  Dr. Evans nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

  “Sir, please state your profession and educational background?”

  The witness took a deep breath. “I am a psychiatrist. My undergraduate work was completed at Princeton in 1941. I applied to medical school at Johns Hopkins and was accepted for the class of ’42. However, instead of continuing my education at that time, I enlisted in the US Army and was a medical corpsman in the European Theater of Operations until 1945, when I was honorably discharged.

  “I started my medical training at Johns Hopkins and received my medical degree in 1953. I did a residency in cardiology at Johns Hopkins and another residency in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston before I went into private practice as a psychiatrist.”

  “Are you a licensed psychiatrist in the state of New York?”

  “Yes, I am licensed in New York and Massachusetts.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Evans. What is your psychiatric specialty in your private practice?”

  “I specialize in psychoanalysis.”

  Brenda paced the courtroom floor. “Exactly what kind of therapy is psychoanalysis and how do you use it in your practice?”

  “The goal of psychoanalysis is to treat mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind. It emphasizes the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior.

  “In my practice, I delve into the unconscious minds of my patients to find their repressed fears and I bring them to the surface. When a fear or conflict is brought to light after being concealed in the unconscious mind, I help the patient see the significance of those fears and how it affects their behavior.”

  “And then what, doctor?” Brenda asked

  “Once these buried events are discussed and analyzed with the patient, it enables me to find the root of his or her neurotic behavior. Once patients learn the root cause of their actions, they have a new understanding of the reasons for their behavior, which helps them make positive changes.”

  “And what techniques do you use to find the repressed feelings which interfere with healthy behavior?”

  “I mostly use free association and dream analysis.”

  “Did you use these procedures with Professor Ross?”

  “I did,” Dr. Evans replied.

  “How many times did you meet with the defendant, Michael Ross?”

  “At the court’s request, I met the professor on twelve occasions since he was incarcerated, which constituted eleven hours of analytic therapy. The sessions were held in a medical office at the prison. My goal was to determine the defendant’s state of mind at the time of the victim’s death. The written record I provided to the court shows the dates, times, and my conclusions after each session.”

  “Please tell the jury some of your findings, doctor, with respect to Professor Ross.”

  “During my examination, Professor Ross appeared normal without any abhorrent behavior, but after several therapy sessions, I discovered his unconscious mind was filled with repressed anxiety, phobia, depression, and compulsions. He also was consumed with guilt, which I later discovered was the result of his inability to protect his wife and children from harm.

  “My overall impression was that I was dealing with an intelligent, sensitive, and caring man. He told me about his family and what happened in the concentration camp. He was open about his conscious feelings and told me about a recurring dream he had after he was imprisoned here in New York. I was able to find a connecting theme in this particular dream which helped me understand his behavior.”

  Brenda turned toward the jury, hesitated a moment as she looked at each of them, and returned her attention to the witness.

  “Tell us about that dream, doctor, even if it calls for a narrative, if you feel it will help the jury understand Professor Ross’s repressed feelings and how they related to his behavior the night of August sixteenth.”

  Carl Evans rubbed his eyes for a moment and replied in an easy manner.

  “I asked Professor Ross for his permission to give him an injection of sodium pentothal, which would reduce the brake effect on his brain and allow him to bring his fears and anxieties from the depths of his unconscious mind into his conscious, the mind we live with every day.

  “I told him it would give me the opportunity to examine his buried feelings and interpret their meanings and how they affected his daily behavior. He agreed to the injection.

  “As is customary in this type of therapy session, Professor Ross was lying on a couch and I sat behind him with a notepad and tape recorder. I’ll include my interpretation as part of the dream as we go along.

  “The dream takes place on a dark night. Michael is sitting in the den of his private home, listening to music. The den has a double door leading to the patio. The inner door is made of wood, and the outer door is a wrought iron gate showing indistinguishable words at the top.

  “Michael sees a man jump from the roof of his house onto the patio. The man has a dark complexion and black hair. He is wearing a black mask, black hat, and a black cape. Michael immediately begins to tremble. His eyes widened and I had the feeling his heart was beating faster. He is afraid this man will kill him.

  “The masked man tears the heavy wrought iron gate off its hinges and bangs his shoulders repeatedly against the inner wooden door, trying to force it open. Michael uses all his strength to hold it closed, but it becomes a back and forth struggle between them. The fight for Michael to keep the door closed reaches new heights when the man’s black-gloved hand is partially inside the door. Michael’s body is shaking. He’s drenched in sweat as he tries to keep the m
an out, but he’s not strong enough.

  “The man breaks in, but now he’s dressed as a postman and he knocks Michael unconscious. When he revives, he sees the postman dragging Ilona across the floor toward a large room with beds.

  “Ilona looks back at Michael. She’s screaming with her arms held out to him. Tears fall from Michael’s eyes. He remains on the floor, paralyzed with fear, and can’t move. Ilona briefly escapes from the clutches of the postman and runs toward a wall held together by pieces of black wire. The postman pulls her off the wall and continues to drag her toward the large room.

  “He pulls her so hard that her arms come out of their sockets. Michael sees Ilona with her mouth open, trying to scream, but no sound comes out.

  “He, too, tries to scream. His mouth is wide open and his jaw is in pain, but he produces no sound no matter how hard he tries. At the end of the dream, he sees a blank space. Michael wakes up, his mouth still wide open, breathing heavily with his heart pounding as he lies in his urine-soaked bed.”

  Brenda listened intently as the psychiatrist described the events of Michael’s recurring dream. “What did you make of this dream, doctor? I mean, how did you interpret it so that it shows relevance to this case?”

  Dr. Evans wiped his brow and leaned forward.

  “Interpreting Michael’s dream required a discussion between the two of us to determine the meaning of the symbols and how they affected his behavior on the night of August sixteenth. That information would enable me to determine his state of mind, but it would take time for me to explain it to the court.”

  “Go ahead. Take all the time you need,” Brenda said, opening her palms.

  Dr. Evans took a sip of water.

  “It was a dream about fear. Both Ilona and Michael could not hear anything when they tried to scream. They were so paralyzed with anxiety that no sound could come out of their mouths.

  “I asked Michael who the man was. The professor just shrugged. Then I asked him why the man was dressed in black, wore a black mask, and had a black cape. His face was even dark. He said he didn’t know. At this point I knew he was not capable of having any input into his dream. Too much was buried in his unconscious and he had no clue, so I helped him.

  “I explained to Michael that his dream disguised events and feelings in his unconscious mind, making it difficult for the conscious to figure out the symbols that contributed to his behavior on the night of August sixteenth. He did not perceive that the man in the black clothes and the postman were the same person, Hans Stern.

  “It was Stern who jumped onto the patio dressed in black. He had black hair and dark skin, the opposite of Stern’s real appearance. Stern was blond and fair. The black mask was a dead giveaway. People use them at masquerades to disguise their faces. When I explained how our dreams are coded by disguising people in the dream with looks opposite to the real person, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. In that moment, it came to him and he understood that the man in the dream was, in fact, Stern.”

  Brenda glanced at the jury. “Dr. Evans, can you tell the court if Michael Ross found anything significant about the double doors?”

  “He said he saw the wrought iron gate as if it were in a horror movie on a dark, stormy night with lightning bolts shooting into the ground and where bad things were about to happen. When I asked him what the gate meant in his dream, he instantly said, ‘Auschwitz.’”

  Brenda stroked her jaw and walked closer to the witness stand. “So, the gate had some sort of relevance in the dream? Why was it significant?”

  “Objection! Leading,” Weisman called out. “The defense is assuming relevancy and there is no foundation.”

  “Please rephrase your question, Ms. Coleman.”

  “Dr. Evans, When Michael Ross answered ‘Auschwitz,’ what was your interpretation of his response?”

  “It was the meaning he attached to it and I agreed. Then I asked him why there were two doors and if he felt they had any significance in his dream. He thought it was related to Auschwitz but didn’t know why.

  “With my help, we talked about it further. I reminded him that the outer door on the patio was a metal gate and the inner door was made of wood. This represented the two entrances to the camp that Michael had to go through at Auschwitz. The first was a wrought iron gate and on top were the German words, Arbeit Macht Frei, work will make you free. The inner wooden door symbolized the entrance to the barracks, where Ross slept.”

  “Did you discuss these symbols further with Michael Ross?”

  “Absolutely. It was the most important thing for him to understand. After Hans Stern forced his way in, his disguise quickly changed to elude the conscious again, which is why he was dressed in the gray uniform of a postman. SS officers wore uniforms that were close to gray.

  “The idea of Stern forcing his way in through both doors on the patio symbolized the constant fear and anxiety Michael felt while as a prisoner in Auschwitz. It can also be a reference to how the Nazis barged their way into the homes of Jews and others, arrested them, and sent them to concentration camps. However, when I questioned Michael about its importance, he shook his head. I told him there is a deeper meaning to why Stern was dressed as a postman.”

  “What was it, doctor?” Brenda asked.

  “Once inside, Stern’s vile, basic nature surfaced, but he kept it hidden by dressing as a postman.”

  “Why a postman’s uniform, Dr. Evans?”

  “Because a postman is normally accepted in the community and is trusted. He’s someone you may see every day. Stern is certainly the opposite of a friendly postman. Once Stern is in his postman’s uniform, he becomes credible as a trusted person, which makes it easier for him to trick Michael and Ilona to do his bidding. Now, Stern takes advantage of them, just as the Nazis tricked the Jews when the Jews first came to Auschwitz and were immediately led to the gas chamber under the pretense they would be showering.

  “The postman in the dream can now perform his evil deeds. He attacks Ilona and pulls her toward a large room with beds, which symbolize the place where prisoners slept. As she was dragged there, her arms come out of their sockets and Michael sees her as a broken woman.”

  “And the wall, doctor. I’m sure the jury would like to hear its meaning. What did it signify?”

  “When I asked Michael about the wall, where all the blocks were wired together, I had no idea what it represented, but knew it was something that created fear in him, so I asked him what it meant. Michael surprised me with his answer and said it was a barbed wire fence. He was able to break through its disguised meaning and it was something only he could have known because it was connected to a tragic event in his life. His wife had taken her life by intentionally running into an electrified barbed wire fence.”

  “It appears that psychiatrists can’t always figure things out on their own.” Brenda smiled.

  “No, there are times when we need the patients help.” Evans smiled back.

  “Dr. Evans, how important is the issue of a blank space in Michael’s mind? It has often come up during this trial. Would you please elaborate on its significance and how it might shed light on Michael Ross’s mental state on the night of August sixteenth?”

  “Yes, of course. It is an important point. Michael’s recurring dream always ended with a blank space, and that had a major bearing for me to arrive at my final diagnosis. I asked him what this space looked like. He said it was like being in a movie theater, looking at a lighted screen with no images on it.”

  Doctor Evans paused and took a deep breath.

  “Basically, the blank space represented a gap in time for events buried in the unconscious to reach his everyday mind—his conscious. During those minutes, time was non-existent for him. Michael didn’t remember that he’d killed Stern until he arrived in town fifteen minutes later. He would be considered insane during that gap in time.”

  “Thank you for your interpretation, doctor. Would you tell the jury your final conclusion about how your lab
tests, talk sessions, and dream analysis came together in a meaningful way for you to make a conclusion?”

  “After Michael Ross was arrested, he had this dream repeatedly. At the end, there was always a blank space where nothing happens. Even after he awakens, some time must pass before he can remember the tragic events of that night. It’s an example of extreme fear and depression, where he is controlled by a tragic happening resulting in a memory lapse. I explained the reasons earlier.

  “After spending a good deal of time with the defendant, I was convinced from the moment Michael Ross realized the man sitting in his house was Hans Stern, he acted uncontrollably, as dictated by his unconscious mind. He killed Stern, then came the space that lasts about fifteen minutes. By that time, he’s in town. There was no way that Michael could ever remember killing Stern. His mental state was strongly compromised to the degree that, at that moment, he was temporarily insane, and that nagging blank space blocked any remembrance of what happened in the garage until later, when he got to town.”

  David Weisman leaped to his feet and cried out, “Objection, Your Honor. This is a long, drawn out narrative and it’s only a dream.”

  Brenda looked toward the judge. “It’s his professional opinion, Your Honor.”

  Judge Jordan replied, “Overruled. He is an expert witness. Continue, counselor.”

  Brenda walked back to the defense table and looked at her notes. Then she turned toward the witness.

  “Dr. Evans, to sum up, you said in your testimony that Professor Ross’s action was uncontrollable. Is that your expert opinion?”

  “Yes, it is,” he answered with assurance.

  “It was uncontrollable and not uncontrolled?”